Compliance

The issues healthcare HR will be facing in the coming year are similar to the ones of the past: higher demand for services because of increased coverage due to the Affordable Care Act, an aging population, and retiring providers. However, that’s not all healthcare HR has to deal with in 2016. Knowing the trends that are coming up can help you prepare for the coming year and play a strong role in your organization’s strategic goals.

When it comes to background checks and credit checks, healthcare employers, like those in other regulated industries, have to comply with a myriad of regulations. Not only do healthcare employers have to follow the same background check laws that apply to any employer, but additional regulators such as the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also come into play, and even certain sections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have specific implications for healthcare background screening.

In case you may have missed it, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its latest Work Plan for fiscal year 2016 last week. Each year, healthcare organizations should review their compliance programs to ensure they address the regulatory agency’s latest areas of focus.

I am very excited to have been part of the Health Care Compliance Association’s (HCCA) inaugural Healthcare Enforcement Compliance Institute, which was appropriately held in Washington, D.C. this past week.

The “Ban the Box” background check movement has progressively become more common throughout the U.S. over the past few years, with over 100 states and cities adopting them, including major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart.

This month, PreCheck’s Vice President of Compliance Vu Do will be participating in our talent management software partner HRsoft’s Talent Takeaways webinar series to discuss the latest background check best practices for employers.

Last month, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an updated version of their 2015 Work Plan, which included several new items not included in the original plan released in late 2014. The mid-year updated version removes items that have been completed, postponed, or canceled and includes new items that have started since October 2014.

While hospitals and other healthcare organizations generally aren’t required to run time-of-hire or ongoing background checks, they often do as part of their voluntary due diligence procedures and to mitigate their liability risk. Some states do require background checks for candidates for certain healthcare positions, but organizations typically run them on all staff members.

In a January, 15, 2015 letter, Gloria L. Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), responded to a November 20, 2014 letter from Melinda Reid Hatton, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the American Hospital Association (AHA).

Most employers conduct background checks before hiring a new employee, but it’s a different picture for current employees. While post-hire background checks may not be the norm across industries, there are a few key reasons why a heavily regulated industry such as healthcare might choose to adopt this practice. Pre-employment background checks can mitigate risk during the hiring process, but with patient and staff safety at stake, it’s important to keep healthcare organizations safe in the long-term.